Presentation

Born in Quinhon (Quy Nhơn) on 18 June 1937, Xavier Le Pichon holds a doctorate in physical sciences. He is a pioneer in research into the expansion of the ocean floor and continental drift, from an understanding of the global functioning of our planet to the study of its local expressions such as earthquakes.

Education and professional career

  • 1963: Research Assistant, Columbia University, New York, USA
  • 1963: Research Assistant, Columbia University, New York, USA, CNEXO
  • 1969: Head of the marine geology department at the Centre océanologique de Bretagne, Brest
  • 1973: Scientific advisor to the President of CNEXO, Paris
  • 1978: Full Professor, Université P. et M. Curie, Paris
  • 1984: Director of the Geology Department, École normale supérieure, Paris
  • 1986-2008: Professor at the Collège de France, holding the Geodynamics Chair
  • 1994: Visiting Total Professor, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
  • 1995: Visiting Professor, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo

Awards and honors

  • 1973: CNRS Silver Medal
  • 1984: Maurice Ewing Medal, American Geophysical Union
  • 1985: 39th "William Smith Lecture" of the Geological Society of London
  • 1985: Member of the French Academy of Sciences
  • 1987: A. G. Huntsman Prize from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Canada
  • 1987: Medal for Oceanography from Prince Albert 1st of Monaco
  • 1990: Japan Prize
  • 1991: Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London
  • 1989: Honorary doctorate from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
  • 1985: Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
  • 1990: Officer of the National Order of Merit
  • 1992: Honorary doctorate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich
  • 1995: Member of the US National Academy of Sciences

Xavier Le Pichon died on 22 March 2025.

Chair